Acterra received a $4,000 grant from LACF to support its community-based restoration programs at Redwood Grove Nature Preserve in Los Altos, and at Byrne, O’Keefe, and Juan Prado Mesa Preserves in Los Altos Hills. This funding increases its impact by bringing more volunteers, more plants, and more energy to our local nature preserves.

In particular, we they been able to support exciting youth programs such as the weekly “Grove Guardians” crew over the summer, and development of a scavenger hunt where participants learn about local ecology.

“We also really appreciate the organization’s role in building community among local nonprofits. LACF makes us feel like we are part of a larger, community-wide effort to make our part of the world a better place.”

Reviewing our Mission – Strategic Planning

It’s July and most people are on vacation, planning one, or wishing they were still on the beach.

Here at LACF the Board and staff are using the summer as an opportunity to do an updated strategic plan for the Foundation and revisiting and revising our mission, strategic priorities, goals, and milestones for the next 2-3 years.

I’m very excited about this process because when completed, the plan will provide a compass for guiding LACF’s activities and enable the Foundation to focus on what’s important for our community.

Our revised mission is above. You can see that it reaffirms our long-term commitment toward building a stronger community. We plan to do this by fostering innovative philanthropy, both for local donors and non-profits, and by encouraging civic engagement.

LACF has done these activities for years through community grants, programs such as E3 Youth Philanthropy and LEAD, and by supporting local philanthropy through Donor Advised and Designated funds. We plan to do more.

The final point on the mission is that the “community” LACF serves is actually three municipalities, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View. These cities are very intertwined in a number of ways, such as with the school districts and agencies such as CSA and CHAC.

For years LACF has provided grants to non-profits in all three communities, helped on initiatives, and sponsored and run programs that benefit residents of each.

While doing the strategic planning, I have been gathering suggestions from local residents and leaders on what LACF could do to better serve our community.

If you have suggestions, feel free to visit, call, or email me with them. But don’t dally – our summer fun of strategic planning will end soon!

Richard Bell was one of Los Altos’ premier volunteers, and his untimely death left behind a town in deep mourning. Bell was raised in Los Altos, and committed himself to its well-being.

He served two terms on the Mountain View/Los Altos (MVLA) High School District Board of Trustees, and wrote scores of recommendations for young people seeking college admission. In particular, he devoted countless hours counseling young adults and teens in conflict with, or alienated from, their parents, the school, and society in general.

After his death, his two sons, along with his many admirers and friends, created the Richard G. Bell Memorial Scholarship as a tribute to his energetic work with youth, and each year, one or more students with profiles similar to Rick’s (bright students, graduating from MVLA Union High School District, from a family of modest means) will receive college scholarships.

The recipients of this year’s Richard G. Bell Memorial Scholarship are two fortunate students, both from Los Altos High School: Barbara Garcia and Salvador Chavez. This fall, Barbara will attend Clark University, where she will major in Psychology, and Salvador will continue his education at Dominican University in Occupational Therapy. Congratulations to Barbara and Salvador!

CAFE founder Anabel Pelham is working with LACF, a local Eagle Scout, Los Altos Rotary and Los Altos and Los Altos Hills on this great project.

Eagle Scout Warren “Renny” Glasner, 17, teamed up last month with Los Altos Rotarian and Los Altos/Los Altos Hills Senior Commission Chairwoman Anabel Pelham to provide 100 backpacks containing a three-day supply of essential survival items for seniors in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency. The duo, along with a handful of local scouts and two city of Los Altos staff members, assembled and distributed the emergency kits to registered Los Altos and Los Altos Hills seniors April 5 in the Hillview Community Center Multipurpose Room. The group distributed 80 backpacks at the event and delivered 20 more to nonmobile seniors in the community.

The Rotary Club of Los Altos’ Partners for Elder Generations Committee, the Los Altos Community Foundation and Los Altos Legacies – a philanthropy group dedicated to enhancing the lives of seniors – funded the prgram. Each emergency kit included a whistle, glow sticks, a rain poncho, a blanket and a booklet with guidelines to follow in the event of a disaster. A three-day supply of drinking-water pouches and two days’ worth of energy bars were also included.

Los Altos Community Foundation (LACF) has completed its third grant making cycle this fiscal year,awarding 15 grants to non-profits that serve Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View. These project and operational grants benefit our communities in areas such as health, assisting vulnerable populations, youth, seniors, arts and culture, and community building.

The current grants support activities such as Alearn’s summer math programs for underserved youth, Acterra’ restoration work in Redwood Grove, Los Altos History Museum to support their Pedal Power

exhibit, Schola Cantorum’s Summer Sings series, and Partners for Elder Generations (PEGS) for emergency backpacks given to seniors. LACF’s Community grant program helps sustain programs at established local organizations including the Los Altos Stage Company, GreenTown Los Altos, and Partners for New Generations and new initiatives such as the web portal that will provide resources for assisting troubled teens being developed by the Sky’s the Limit Fund.

“LACF is proud of how its grants have positively benefitted the social, environmental, and economic aspects of our community,” said Joe Eyre, LACF Executive Director.

The Foundation has granted over $1.1 million to our local communities since its founding in 1991. Beginning in 2007, LACF began a re-granting program for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. This year the Packard Foundation provided 200,000 to LACF for local re-granting.

Los Altos Community Foundation improves the quality of life in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Mountain View by inspiring, facilitating, and celebrating philanthropy. The Foundation does this through grant making, programs, non-profit fiscal sponsorship, philanthropic funds, and community leadership.